We had toast with port salut cheese and tea for breakfast and tasted the gorgeous orange marmalade purchased from the Dutch lock keeper. Very impressed!
Off to the chateau at 11 and had for once timed things right. The next tour was at 11.30 and with tickets from Ancy Le franc chateau, we got a euro off so just 8€ each, marvellous!
We were joined by 2 French couples and with an English written guide to help, it was surprising how much we understood of the guides advice. The chateau was another fascinating visit with several priceless furniture items and clocks as well as some unbelievable stone fireplaces and some great history as this place was used by Protestant leaders in their uprising against the Catholics and indeed the heads met in secret in one of the towers. We were lucky enough to sit in the very room where a magnificent ceiling fresco had been painted depicting the history of French kings and queens according to there faith. The fresco was never finished as the Protestants were betrayed and forced to flee the chateau, so the last area is just the original outline of what would have been.
From the tower windows, a great view of the chimneys and guttering of the upper floor and roofs.
We were able to take a picture of the room used for balls and parties. A masterpiece of painting in shades of grey, the statues looked real the depiction of depth was so clever. The room had originally been 42m long but a fire had gutted part so now just 27m survives.
Our entry included a contemporary art exhibition which we visited next in the old stables. As always with contemporary work, some is complete tosh and nonsense whilst some clever, thought provoking and often humorous. We really enjoyed it!
The chateau bar at the entrance was the setting for a leffe aparatif, collettes Nordic salad and my bowl of frites for lunch. For those interested in a Nordic salad, it turned out to be salad with smoked salmon crab and prawns. A 50 cl pichet of rose at 6€ and coffees total bill 25€. A nice couple of hours in the sun.
We went for a stroll to see if we could find the much vaunted mass of walnut trees which are apparently everywhere. Sadly they continue to evade us! Met the young lock keeper who was in his first week on the job and would be seeing us through his command tomorrow morning. Had a fun chat with him about the trials of sitting there looking after one lock all day in the sunshine and how it had to be the laziest job in the world. It is he laughed but with immediate explanation that in his second week he would be upgraded to two locks. We parted with see you at ten sharp tomorrows.
Chatted to our neighbours, Lancashire joe and his wife, liveaboards who winter in st jean de Losne. Raved about the fun of winter and the community life down there. We crossed the canal and stopped and chatted to another newly arrived uk flagged barge. Incredibly, This couple also winter in st. Jean and had actually moved berths making way for joe to have it 3 years ago so having just arrived and spotted them, they were going over to invite old friends for dinner tonight. Ah very nice this waterway life, we decided!
As we drifted back to Doucette, we were mildly alarmed to see a hire boat reversing into a gap which did not appear to exist between Doucette and an American hired boat alongside us. Lots of people on the dock and much shouting. Oh my god not again I thought. There was nothing to do but watch and keep fingers crossed as we were stranded on the wrong side of the canal. For once the skipper appeared to be able to manoeuvre the thing and also do it at slow and careful speed. Nichols boats are designed for Mediterranean style stern too mooring and he did a very good job although it did look a bit wierd. Especially as there was masses of room on the quay opposite where we stood and watched the episode unfold.
We spent the evening on the poop, it was a very lovely setting and we had a few drinks and I cooked a ham, cheese and mushroom pasta dish which was rather lovely before by our standards a relatively early ten thirty retirement.
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